


Hey, Somebody's on the Roof!

by AmethystAuthoress



Category: Beetlejuice (1988), Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King, Beetlejuice the musical - Fandom
Genre: Drabble, and she's back to see the ghost with the most, based on the musical mostly, lydia just graduated highschool
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2020-08-19 20:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20216134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmethystAuthoress/pseuds/AmethystAuthoress
Summary: There were two people who ever fully understood Lydia's weirdness. The first was her mom. The second was the reason she was on this roof. Back at the place where she first met him, all those years ago.





	1. Chapter 1

Lydia Deetz went up to her roof - for the first time in years - on her 23rd birthday.  
It was under drastically different circumstances this time. She had no plans to jump. She was happy. Her relationship had grown with her father and the pain of her mother's decision to take her life had healed as they spoke about her more. Adam and Barbara were always helpful - heck, she had even gotten a shockingly close relationship with Delia!  
Lydia had expanded beyond that too though. She found her few close friends in high school, drifted by with good enough grades. She got honors for college. Her chosen majors were photojournalism and psychology (much to Delia's joy - she loved claiming that her work as a "life coach" had inspired her stepdaughter's choice of a double major). She had roommates and was involved with clubs. She actually felt love and inspiration all around her.  
Her family welcomed that change. The only issue was that they expected other changes as well.  
The amount of times that her parents or the ghost couple commeted on the black attire... Lydia couldn't even count. They had all expected the clothes to just be part of her grieving. They thought that she would get over her love of the unusual, most past her fondness for frights, and start dressing in things like that hideous yellow dress Delia bought for her all those years ago.  
Lydia didn't wear the dark clothes out of depression about her mother though. They didn't make her sad. They made her happy.  
It wasn't a lie when Lydia had told the Maitlands that her mother was weird. Emily Deetz was a quirky woman. Not in the way that Delia was, though. Emily was more...morbid.  
Lydia could remember the nights spent watching horror films together, making fun of them as they went. Generally it was cheesy slashers. Child's Play and Gremlins were two favorites. Lydia also gained a lot for films like Bride of Frankenstein through her mother though. The beautfully framed shots from black and white gothic tales - they're what inspired most of her early photography.  
They would challenge each other on who could do the best pranks on April Fools. They would design gorgeous costumes for Halloween. Lydia can remember being six years old and thinking her mother looked like the most beautiful person in the world, in her vampire queen ensemble...  
Her mother was the only person who understood her weirdness. Lydia Deetz had no desire to let go of that part of herself, or to stop remembering her mom in the ways that she did.  
Actually...  
That's a lie.  
There were two people who ever fully understood Lydia's weirdness. The first was her mom. The second was the reason she was on this roof. Back at the place where she first met him, all those years ago.  
It probably was a stupid idea. He's probably off finding some way to scare and con dead guys. Maybe he's hooking up with some ghost women. Maybe he won't be able to hear her, or he simply won't want to come (she did kill him after all).  
"Beetlejuice..."  
But she feels a need to try.  
"Beetlejuce..."  
He's been stuck in her head for nearly a year, her senior project largely inspired by his style when he trasformed their house. When she got the opportunity to come back home this summer and do an online internship before going full-force into the work force... It just felt like a sign.  
"Beetlejuce!"  
Silence.  
Maybe it doesn't work anymore, now that he's more ghost than demon...  
The air around her was changing though and - quite suddenly - there was a man in front of her and... Oh wow, he looked almost the same as how she remembered him.  
I mean, he's dead, it's not like he's going to age. Still... A bit on the shorter side, stocky, that ruffled green hair (with more streaks of black in it now), the not-fully-shaved-face... He was wearing a purple suit that caused him to resemble the Joker slightly, but it was definately her demon.  
He looked up at her. Wow, had his eyes always been that soft? It was like looking at a mangy puppy, from how he was kneeling below her...and why is she thinking that about the man she saw nearly kill Barbara? Maybe this was a mistake...  
"Hey doll, how'd you come across my na-"  
He freezes.  
"Hello," Lydia says softly.  
He still seems to be processing. She watches as his confusion changes to realization. His mouth goes from a predatory grin to his jaw dropping to a soft smile, before he sets his jaw.  
"Lyds?"


	2. Chapter 2

“Lyds?”  
Beetlejuice is staring at her in such a way that she wants to laugh. It also gives her some confidence.  
“Did you really forget me that quickly? Been too busy trying to tame sandworms or something?” She says, with a smirk.  
He quickly stands up.  
“Hey, you can't blame me, you look...” He trails off some, before finishing his sentence, “...different. Very different. Yet still Lydia. Man, how long has it been since I've been in the land of the living?”  
The ghost had been pacing for the duration of his rambles. He was also gesturing with his hands a fair amount. In his distraction, he nearly fell off the roof at least twice.  
“You've been in the Netherworld for almost eight years, our time,” Lydia states. “It's not surprising that you'd think I look different – gained a couple inches, got the hair longer. Oh and I was more of a late bloomer.”  
She gestured to her breasts to accentuate her last comment. Beetlejuice glances with her movement, before decidedly looking away.  
“I, uh, can see that doll,” He says gruffly. “How old are you now anyways?”  
“Today's my twenty-third birthday.”  
He looks at her, with a tilt of his head.  
“Is it now? Why are you talking to a dead guy on a roof instead of spending time with your family – or getting wasted at a bar with your gal pals?”  
She shoots him a death glare.  
“That's not exactly my idea of a good time, and nearly none of my friends live here anyways. I'm only here for the summer.”  
He starts smiling, in his big ego-ed way, and she has a terrible idea.  
Lydia slinks closer to him, biting her lip slightly. His smile shrinks a bit. She grabs his tie before he can finish his movement, with the intention of clearing the path for her. Leaning close to his ear, she murmurs:  
“As for family...well, it's not outlandish that a woman would want to see her husband on her birthday, now is it?”  
It doesn't get quite the reaction she was hoping for.  
He laughs.  
Hard.  
It's a sharp grating sound that she wasn't at all prepared for, and suddenly he's nearly doubled over laughing. She feels her face heat up and mentally yells at it to stop – her actions were supposed to make HIM flustered.  
She, unfortunately, doesn't school her face in time. He's straightening up and wiping the tears from his eyes when he notices her expression. The angry-embarrassed red flush especially stands out on the pale woman.  
“Oh man. Sorry babes,” He says, “You have grown up in the most wonderful of ways from what I can see, and I know I am a very sexual being, but even I can't buy that you'd summon me here to try to seduce the demon who forced you into marrying him when you were fifteen.”  
Lydia mutters something crude at him, as she aggressively pulls her dress down lower and tries to figure out what else to do with her arms besides crossing them. Her father always says that she looks like the same “angsty teen” when she does that.  
Beetlejuice is still trying to school his features when a thought occurs to him.  
“You never answered my question.”  
“What question?”  
“The one where I asked why you were up on the roof summoning me instead of having some fantastic birthday celebration. Come on - what do you need?”  
That question causes her to look up at him.  
“What do I need...?”  
Beetlejuice rolls his eyes at her.  
“Yeah, you summoned me. Obviously. So what do you need? My powers aren't what they once were, thanks to your fun 'wed and dead' trick, but I still have some stuff up my sleeve. Do you have some sort of girly rival you want to get rid of? Boyfriend pushed you too far? Daddy make you angry again?”  
He seriously just thought she wanted something from him. To be fair, that was how their relationship worked before, and Lydia could probably make up some reason for calling him. She probably should, considering that she really had none. She never had even really considered what she'd do after he showed up – all of her focus had been on whether he would. She didn't want him to actually hurt anyone though, and any other potential need she'd have could've been solved by Adam or Barbara, so...  
“I told the truth the first time,” Lydia says. “I just wanted to see you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love when stories start out as one-shots but then I have too many ideas to not continue it...


	3. Chapter 3

Beetlejuice laughs again. This time, however, it sounds dull and empty. Lydia isn't sure which she likes less.  
"Stop yankin' a dead man's chain," He says. "Come on, Lyds - what do you need?"  
Part of her regrets this decision deeply. She wishes she never summoned him, wishes she had thought through what she was going to say to him before summoning him, wishes she didn't let eight years go by, wishes she never killed him, wishes she hadn't been obsessed with finding her mom...  
A more wicked part of her wonders what requests she could make to freak him out.   
He clearly isn't buying the spending-time-with-her thing, regardless of it's accuracy. She couldn't hit on him again - that was embarrassing. What else could she ask? Maybe she should just repeat the truth after all.  
"I've been thinking about...what happened. With us," She starts, "With everything, all those years ago. It's not the type of thing you could just forget, obviously, but it's been coming to my mind more and more lately. All of the chaos and cruel pranks and betrayals, but also how I felt... I mean, how it was..."  
"You hate me."  
He said it so matter-of-fact, that she just stared at him. That was not at all what she was trying to get at.   
"I don't hate you," She says.  
Beetlejuice moves to sit on the edge of the roof, looking out over the yard. It's almost too dark to see him, yet Lydia can make out his mouth, distorted into some sort of lopsided grimace, when she looks at her again.  
"No? Hate too strong of a word? You did murder me after all."   
An image flashes in Lydia's mind. The various expressions that went across his face after the wedding - rage, sadness, and joy. Confusion also was heavy then. He reminded her of a child, so utterly fascinated and overwhelmed by the world and feelings around him. She often wondered how he could have adjusted to life in the mortal realm.  
Then she remembers the weight of the art piece in her hands. The sound of him gasping, completely unexpecting her extreme betrayal. Him falling to his knees, looking up at her, the red everywhere on him and on the floor and on her hands...  
"I don't hate you."   
Lydia needs to repeat it, for both of their sakes. She didn't kill him out of hate. It would be easier if she had. Perhaps she wouldn't feel the twinges of guilt when she thinks about it then.   
"You don't like me though."  
That claim is met with silence. Beetlejuice waits a couple minutes, before nodding his head in acceptance. He then swings his legs back on to the roof and comes to kneel before her. He takes one of her hands between his cold, dead fingers.  
"What the hell are you doing?"  
"I'm offering myself. You're angry at me. It's your birthday. Despite you brutally murdering me, you still were the first fake-friend I had in a long time. What do you want me to do for your birthday? I'll be here for the week, maximum."


	4. Chapter 4

“Excuse me, what?” Lydia repeatedly, dumbly.  
Beetlejuice gave her an exasperated look and cracked his neck.   
“I’m offering my services. For the week. Whatever you want me to do - whatever helps you enjoy your birthday or stop being quite as angry at me or whatever.”  
“You just used ‘whatever’ three times in a single sentence.”  
“Sue me.”  
Oh gosh, the demon was being serious.   
Lydia considered her options. He clearly wasn’t going to accept her actual desire to spend time with him again (which hurt a tad, though she really couldn’t blame him). He thought she hated him, yet he was still offering her whatever she wanted of him. Did she really have any choice but to take advantage of the offer?  
She placed her hands on his shoulders and pulled him back up.  
“Stop kneeling. Let’s get you inside.”  
“That’s a ‘yes’?”  
Lydia just nodded as she walked back over to the window she had crawled through to get up on the roof. Beetlejuice was very clearly singing Genie in a Bottle behind her. What had she gotten herself into?

It took them a bit to reach Lydia’s room. Delia and her father were probably asleep already, but Adam and Barbara were likely still roaming around. Lydia really did not want to have to explain to the Maitlands why Beetlejuice was back. They would never understand.  
Her room was a safe-haven of sorts for her. She had polaroid photos up on the grey walls, black lace curtains, some beautifully pinned/labeled butterfly species, a book shelf, a bean bag from her younger years, the bed, a nightstand, and a clothing rack holding what wasn’t in her closet. The polaroids were mainly art projects, while her nightstand held a clock and family photo.  
“I like the room, Lyds.”  
The demon was standing in her doorway. It was amusing how much shorter he looked, now that she had added height in the form of late puberty and thick boots. She knew he could change form if need be though.  
She grabbed on to the lapel of his jacket and dragged him into her room.   
“Don’t let anyone see you. My family would freak out if they knew I summoned you again.”  
“Sorry, sorry. I’m not here - got it.” Beetlejuice says quickly, his hands up in mock surrender.  
Lydia realized two things at once.   
The first was that she was horribly exhausted suddenly. Her head ached and her bed looked very comfortable.  
The second thing was that she had no idea what to do with Beetlejuice.  
“I, uh, actually should probably sleep so…” She said.  
Beetlejuice just cocked his head.   
“Did you drag me down here just to banish me to the roof again?”  
Wow, that did sound idiotic. Why hadn’t she thought that through either?  
She looked around her room, desperate for some excuse to have brought him here. She found none.   
“Well, uh, you could…” The goth woman started, “You could sleep on my bean bag, if you wanted. If you do sleep. Otherwise, I’ve got a Netflix and a Shudder subscription so feel free to watch any freaky thing you want on my laptop.”  
Beetlejuice wiggled his eyebrows.   
“Not porn.” Lydia clarified.  
He had the good nature to look scandalized at the thought that he would do such a thing, before circling the beanbag and settling down like some kind of small mammal. Lydia handed him the laptop and cord, then told him to turn around. She shucked off her pants and bra quickly. The covers were warm and the lamp could be reached from under them.   
Darkness covered the room, except for Beetlejuice’s excited face which was lit up from the laptop screen.  
“Goodnight BJ. Try to be quiet.”   
It would be a long night.


End file.
